Champion
by corneroffandom
Summary: After EC3 fires Spud, everything changes.


Time passes after Spud's firing. Ethan's moved on, all but forgotten about the man. His career is busy, his constantly chasing the world title still held by Bobby Roode. With each loss, he grows more and more frustrated, barely paying attention to the whispers about the new General Manager- Kurt Angle, probably a good reason why Ethan's having so much trouble becoming world champion- rehiring someone from TNA's past. He sees no one of importance in the backstage, so he figures it's no one he cares about until he's knocking on Angle's locker room door to yell at him for once more keeping him from gaining what should be rightfully his when familiar music echoes through the arena, stopping him right where he's standing. "No way," he mumbles, turning to look at the nearest monitor.

It's Rockstar Spud and Ethan's brows furrow as he listens to the general reaction of the crowd, always glad to be able to witness any surprise return. He's gritting his teeth so hard that his jaw is aching, not sure why the man's back. He'd been fired after the mess with Dixie going through the table, and Ethan had been relieved in a way to hear he'd been forced back to England. "What is this?" he snaps, glaring at Angle, who smirks in a way that lets Ethan know this has been planned for awhile. "Why is he back?"

"He's an incredible performer, who has inspirations in this business past being someone's lackey. Why wouldn't he be back?" Angle asks, tilting his head with an infuriating gleam in his eye before leaving Ethan behind to stew, glare at the monitor showing Spud explaiing his decision to the crowd.

Ethan scoffs when Spud declares his intention to become X-Division Champion. "Yeah, right," he mumbles, knowing deep in his bones that the man won't be able to do anything like it. "Idiot." Scoffing, he turns his back on the monitor and heads back for his locker room.

"And then," he continues on, voice more confident than Ethan's ever heard it before, "once I've won the X-Division championship, I will cash in option C and... no matter who is world champion at the time..." He turns to face the camera, eyes blazing with a fire that Ethan thinks is aimed right for him. "I am coming for you. And I _will_ be World Champion! Bet on that." He tosses the mic aside before striding from the ring, his jaw fixed, his eyes filled with certainty.

Despite himself, Ethan finds himself drawn to the picture the man is putting forward. Wonders what exactly England had done to him the last few months to meld him into this creature before him, so unlike the Spud Ethan had worked with.

Ethan tries not to focus on how their careers begin to align- they become #1 contender for their individual titles at the same show, and, a few weeks later, win the titles in matches only half an hour apart. Ethan clenches his jaw, stares down at his belt, and tries not too feel too much unease at the sudden challenge Spud might prove to be. _He's nothing,_ he reminds himself. _Could barely survive a trek through the woods last year. You're fine. This is fine. You'll see._

But when he walks backstage and Spud is waiting for him, an intense look on his face as he grips his X-Division title, Ethan doubts himself possibly for the first time in his life. "Congratulations, Ethan," he says lowly. "You know what this means, yes?"

Ethan works at not showing the wave of emotions under the surface- discomfort, annoyance, outright rage that his moment is getting tarnished by this- by _Spud_. "Yeah," he says, getting dangerously close to Spud's face and staring him in the eye. "I most definitely do. It means I get to destroy you _physically_ this time _._ "

Spud laughs at him. The damn little idiot acts like he'd said something _funny!_ "Oh, Ethan," he says simply, acting almost sympathetic towards the current World Heavyweight Champion. "You can't possibly hurt me more than you already have." He reaches up, touches the edge of the belt. "When the time comes, when it's Ultimate X, I will beat you for this."

All Ethan can do is gape at him as he turns and walks off, absolutely no worries whatsoever about what hell he might have just unleashed upon himself.

Ultimate X is scheduled for early June. So there's time for things to change and, although Spud's title reign does stutter thanks to Kenny King, he fights through it, defeats the man easily enough. Not for the first time, Ethan considers just what kind of competitor Spud may be by now. They're both still champions the last week of May so all Ethan can do is stand there and listen while Angle announces that the following week, Spud will have to make his decision. Remain X-Division champion, or forfeit the belt and face Ethan for the Heavyweight Title.

Ethan can't help but think if Spud had any sense, he'd just keep the belt he's got and not even risk it, but he can tell by the mulish look on Spud's face that that is exactly what he's going to do. Despite the lack of surprise as he watches Spud hand over the belt he had fought so hard to retain these last few months, Ethan's heart beats just a little faster as he realizes. This is really happening. They're actually going to face off against each other for the first time in a world title match in less than seven days.

Dixie is in his ear all week, demands, orders, suggestions, even video clips of what Spud had been up to the last few months in England. Ethan peeks at a video or two but it makes him feel worse, so he turns it off, heads to the gym. Apparently while he'd been fighting through an arm injury to become champion, Spud had been wrestling larger and larger competitors- guys close to his size and larger, and somehow _winning_ against some of them, if not most of them. He leans against the weight machine and wonders, not for the first time since seeing him again, where _this_ Spud was at when his aunt needed help, when the whole world was against them.

He scoffs and hits the metal bar by his face, sending it swinging back and forth with a squeech of protest, before surging away and staring at his reflection. "You've got this. You're a Carter and some pathetic shrimp like him isn't going to take anything away from you. Not your belt, not your pride, not a damn thing."

But it doesn't matter how much training he does, or videos he watches, or anything else. Spud's in his head, has pretty much been since he walked back into the arena all of those months ago thanks to that damn Kurt Angle. By the time the night comes, Ethan is an anxious, jittery, sweaty mess. From the moment that Spud's music hits to when Ethan is walking down the ramp, all he can do is stare ahead, try not to throw up. He's had some impossible opponents before- hell, a lot of people said his winning this belt off of Bobby Roode was impossible in and of itself- but he's never felt like this before. He's never wrestled a match that's been this _personal_ before. So much rides on the line that he can barely even tolerate being in his own skin right now.

Spud stretches in the corner, adjusts his knee pads, his wrist tape, everything, until the bell rings. Ethan immediately surges out of the ropes to lock up with him but Spud meets him halfway and despite Ethan having the height advantage, it does take him a minute to get the upperhand on Spud, Spud more muscular and determined since the last time they did something like this, against Angle all of those months ago. Ethan shakes his head, tries to get the memories to go away, and slams Spud down before planting a knee in his back and swatting disrespectfully at the back of his head. The ref is lecturing him so he lets him up, watches with a smirk as Spud scrambles to his feet, angry and biting... just to get boots to the face as Spud rushes forward and lands a dropkick that sends Ethan sprawling back, Spud immediately covering him to a two count, Ethan dazed and hating himself for letting it get that far, for not kicking out immediately.

He's awake now, and grabs Spud, overpowering him quickly and throwing him into the turnbuckle. Spud stumbles right into Ethan's hold and he has him in position for a 1%, but Spud is quick and fast thinking, and his size works against Ethan, gives him just enough space to squirm free, land on his feet behind Ethan. Ethan's confused at the sudden loss of command over Spud's form and before he even realizes what's happening, _he's_ being rammed face first into the turnbuckle, Spud yelling in anger over him as he repeatedly smacks his face into the padding, which really is far from comfortable. The referee now is admonishing Spud, who backs away... just to grab Ethan around the head and using whatever momentum he can pull together slinging him up, landing the Underdog and leaving Ethan gasping as he stares up at the lights, unable to figure out how things had turned against him so quickly.

Spud isn't leaving this to chance, however, scrambling up once more and diving down, landing a splash that leaves Ethan gasping for oxygen, his ribs throbbing from Spud's weight crashing down on his middle. His vision is dotted in stars, each breath shoots fresh agony up his chest, and he can't hear the referee's hand crashing against the mat near his head until it's too late- he kicks out, but the three count's been marked and Spud is the winner of the match. He flops off of Ethan and they lay there, in equal but separate amounts of awe at the sudden conclusion of the match, before the referee brings the title belt- takes a wide berth of Ethan's motionless form and holds it out to Spud, who stares at it in disbelief. Tears filling his eyes as he reaches out for it, hands shaking like he doesn't believe it.

Ethan's hearing comes back in a rush then and he wishes it hadn't- the crowd is going crazy, cheering Spud's victory, his own torment and horror all but ignored as Spud hugs the belt to him, still crying against the steel plates. He staggers to his feet. Stares at Spud, memories of the last couple of years running through his mind. All that it took to get _here._ The friendship, the hatred... this. He closes his eyes. _Aunt D is going to kill me._ By the time he opens his eyes again, Spud is on his feet, warily staring at him, preparing to defend himself. title belt held to aside as if he can protect it should Ethan try to take it forcefully from him. Ethan's lips twitch as he stares at the man, reflecting again on how determination and stubbornness had gotten Spud here. _Dammit,_ he thinks, ignoring Spud's flinched step backwards as he walks forward.

The crowd is reacting negatively to his every move but he ignores them too, finally getting in range of Spud and holding his hand out, waiting patiently as the displeasure from the crowd only grows louder. Spud eyes him suspiciously and shakes his head, clearly not trusting this. "No, Ethan. I'm not the same naive child that left for England last year. I won't fall for your tricks any longer."

"No tricks," Ethan insists over the noise of the crowd. "Just respect. You deserve this moment, Spud." And he does. Ethan will not give up on being champion this easily, of course not, he's deserved a rematch after all, but for now. For tonight. Spud has earned this win, he's earned Ethan's respect. So he waits. He watches as Spud fights with himself, the weariness he'd gained after losing so much thanks to the Carters struggling against his desperation to believe in the good in people. His core beliefs eventually win out and he takes Ethan's hand, watching him carefully as Ethan shakes it, turning and lifting Spud's arm up as high as he can considering their height differences, pointing at him as the crowd reacts in confusion, cheering Spud in a subdued fashion as they too aren't sure how to react to Ethan's actions, before letting go and rolling out of the ring to let Spud have the rest of his moment without any further drama.

He gives himself a minute on the ramp, watching his former friend once more peer gratefully down at the title belt that will forever now have his name in its lineage, exhaling. "Never say never," he murmurs, turning to walk backstage with a small smile on his lips.


End file.
